Kingdom Hearts: Radiant Shadows
by Kairi Light
Summary: Akari's journey continues as she begins a new adventure with friends from her past. Still stunned by her travels from long ago, Akari will do everything in her power to protect the ones she loves. But often the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows and her heart is no exception.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome everyone! I'm so excited to continue Akari's journey. I you haven't already, you probably want to check out the prequel to this titled Beginning Light on my profile. It is referred back to a bit in this story. Radiant Shadows will follow the KH1 storyline. I'm gonna try and keep as much canon content as I can into the story. Thank you all for starting or continuing Akari's journey and without further ado, let's go!

* * *

"Keep up with me 'Kari" The dark haired ninja yelled as she leapt from building to building. The slightly younger girl ran behind her, trying to catch up.

She stopped at one building and bent over for a second, catching her breath. The ninja dropped down next to her and frowned.

"Oh come on, done already?" The younger girl gave her a stare and rolled her eyes.

"We;ve been running for more than twenty minutes and we've already looped the city five times. When do you get tired, Yuffie?" The older girl grinned.

"I'm a Wutai ninja, I never get tired."

"Well I'm a normal girl, so I do get tired." The younger girl retorted. She picked herself up and jumped to a nearby balcony before knocking on the door.

"Oh come on Akari. We can do at least one more!" Yuffie edged her on. Akari was about to huff a reply when the door opened and her tall brown-haired friend appeared before her.

"Aerith!" The older girl gave a warm smile.

"Welcome back Akari! How was your scouting with Yuffie?" Akari rolled her eyes.

"Long and boring. No heartless in sight!" Aerith laughed.

"Well that's good to hear. Come on in! Leon and Cid will be coming by later. We've just received a message." Yuffie hopped down and entered the room after Akari.

"What message?" She asked Aerith curiously. Akari watched as Aerith pulled out an envelope. It had the stamp of a mouse that sealed the letter, although it was clear that the envelope had already been opened.

The younger girl stepped back, nearly knocking an item behind her. Aerith paused from pulling out the letter and gave her a worried look.

"Are you okay, Akari?" Akari took a deep breath and nodded.

"Y-yeah. I was just surprised by the seal." Yuffie peered at the stamp and shrugged.

"It's just the King's mark?" Akari's eyes widened.

"King?" Yuffie gave her a strange look.

"Yeah, King Mickey!" Yuffie said, puzzled by Akari's reaction. Aerith watched Akari with careful eyes.

"is something wrong Akari?" She asked gently. Akari shook her head quickly and breathed in.

"No. I'm fine. What did the King say?" Yuffie's attention turned immediately to Aerith who pulled out the letter and unfolded it.

"I won't go over everything, but he's asking us to find something for him." Yuffie bounded over to Aerith and took the letter.

Akari stood off to the side, almost scared to hear what Mickey wanted, what the friend she hadn't seen in almost ten years sent a letter for. She could barely remember what he looked like, but seeing that seal reminded her of her adventures long ago.

"What is it?" She asked, finally working up the courage and walking over to where Aerith and Yuffie stood. Aerith handed her the letter and Akari grasped it firmly as she skimmed the writing.

One word popped out. One word that reminded her of her three friends.

She dropped the letter.

Yuffie ran over to her and shook her, trying to snap her out of her trance. She gripped her arm and turned the younger girl around to face her.

"Hey! What's wrong!" Aerith gently pushed Yuffie back and turned to stare at Akari, kneeling down and running her fingers through the girl's short black hair.

"Are you okay?" She asked gently. A tear ran across Akari's cheek and she rubbed it away, nodding her head.

"Yeah...I'll be fine." She kneeled down and picked up the letter, rubbing her thumb over the ever familiar word.

_Keyblade_


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for updating late! My laptop has been having issues :( Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed the story! Especially to all my readers from Beginning Light! It means a lot to me.

* * *

Sora sprinted down the docks, sparing a glance at the other two boats moored.

"Those are Kairi and Riku's boats!" He noted as he ran across the island, searching for his other friends. It was dark, and he should've been at home, but a storm was coming, and he needed to make sure the raft was safe.

As he neared the island, he spotted Riku.

"Riku! Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" Sora called, the wind sweeping away his voice. Riku turned.

"Sora! The door is open. We can leave this island." Sora rushed over, confused.

"What are you talking about? We gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku assured. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back." He looked up at the dark portal, breaking through the night sky. "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" Shadows began forming around Riku's feet, entangling and rising up around him and Sora. He stretched out a hand while Sora tried to grasp what was happening.

The ground shook beneath him as they began sinking into the ground. Sora reached for Riku's hand, but just as he reached it, darkness swallowed them both.

* * *

It was empty, dark. He couldn't see anything at all. Suddenly, within the darkness, a pulse of light beamed. It grew bigger and bigger, until it washed away the darkness.

* * *

Sora stepped backwards, blinking as the world came back into view. In his hand, an object had appeared. A giant silver key with a golden handle.

_Keyblade…_

The word popped into his head and he looked around, confused. Black shadow creatures rose from the ground and he instinctively bent down, his lessons from Riku coming back to him. With this keyblade, he slashed through them, cutting right through their shadow bodies and destroying them.

"I have to find Kairi!" He remembered as he cut down the monsters. Spinning on his heel, Sora ran back across the bridge, heading straight for their moss-covered hideout beside the waterfall.

As he entered the dark cave, he saw Kairi standing in front of the wooden door, her back to him.

"Kairi!" He called. She turned, slowly, as if in a trance.

"Sora…" She murmured. Sora glanced at her in surprise. Still in a trance, Kairi raised her hand towards him.

Wind suddenly picked up, flooding from the door behind Kairi. Her body was pushed forward, flung towards Sora, but just as he wrapped his arms around her, she vanished.

Losing the power to fight back, Sora was thrown out of the cave by the strong wind and into the air.

The island had changed significantly, as if he had gone through a portal. What was once an island on the sea now floated in the air, and a huge creature stood before him.

"What's going on!" The monster attacked Sora and the young boy jumped back, summoning the keyblade to his hand.

"Stay away." He slashed at the monster's hand. Noticing that his attacks were working, Sora continued hitting the monster with all the strength he had.

With one final cut, the monster vanished into shadows.

The wind continued growing, picking up Sora's body. He desperately clung onto a small part of the wooden shack from the island, but the strong winds picked that up too, and Sora was flung up into the air, vanishing into the portal.

* * *

Akari woke up with a gasp, her eyes wide. Yuffie rolled over. Too heavy a sleeper to be woken up, she didn't notice the dark haired girl bringing her knees to her face, tears forming in her eyes.

_Sora_


	3. Chapter 3

Akari rose slipping off the bed and tip toeing to the closet. After pulling on her black jacket and changing into her shorts, she pulled on her shoes and quietly opened the door. It made a loud whining noise and Akari winced, glancing over at a sleeping Yuffie before stepping outside.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yuffie suddenly said behind her. Akari jumped backwards onto the balcony.

"Yuffie! I thought you were asleep?" Yuffie gave her a grin.

"You seemed down, so I decided to keep an eye on you." She stepped outside and closed the door. "After all, everyone else is also awake, waiting for the keybearer. We were all surprised when you said you were tired. Wouldn't you want to wait for him?" Akari's face fell and Yuffie nodded, crossing her arms."Yup, we all had a feeling something was wrong."

"Yuffie, he's coming…" She said, trailing off. "I don't want him to see me."

"What...why? He could get you back to your world!" Akari shook her head.

"No, I-I can't meet him." She turned away and hopped onto the balcony, kneeling down and looking at the stars. Yuffie walked next to her and leaned against the railing, sighing.

"I'm not very good at this, but if I had to guess, I'd say that you know something you're not letting us in on." Akari gave her a look and Yuffie shrugged. "If Leon knew I was trying to give you advice, he'd probably die from horror." She laughed to herself, trying to fill the empty silence.

"Yuffie...have you ever run away, but told yourself that you have a reason to run?" Akari asked, her voice quiet. Yuffie jumped onto the railing and turned to her.

"Well...yeah. I guess, that's exactly what I did." Akari gave Yuffie a weird look and she put her hands up in the air.

"Hey! Hey, I'm not confessing to anything!" They both laughed, their giggles filling the air and breaking the tension. As the cheerfulness died down, Yuffie nodded.

"Yup, that's what I did. I ran away, believing I'd be helping my hometown by bringing it back to full glory." Yuffie gave the younger girl a big grin.

"But because I ran away, I got to meet Leon and the others because of it, as well as you!" Akari nodded, smiling.

"Then I guess I have had a lot of luck, considering I got to meet all of you!" She raised her hand up to the stars.

"You know, if you're ever in need of anything, we're always here for you." Aerith said, watching from the doorway. Akari whirled around in surprise while Yuffie laughed.

"H-how long have you been there?" Akari asked cautiously.

"Long enough." A gruff male voice said. Akari turned to see Leon leaning against the railing of the balcony next door and she jumped back, forgetting the lack of ground beneath her.

Only having enough time to tuck in her feet, Akari fell on her butt, rubbing it as she stood up from the hard impact.

"Hey! That hurt!" She shouted. Yuffie snorted and jumped down, landing gracefully on her feet.

"Come on, I've taught you how to land properly." Akari rolled her eyes and looked up at Aerith and Leon staring down at her. She grinned and Leon nodded before turning around and waving his hand.

"Come on. The King sent us guests." Aerith called. Yuffie grabbed Akari's hand and they leapt back onto the balcony, a skill taught to Akari by Yuffie herself.

"Who is it?" The younger girl asked. Yuffie shrugged.

"I dunno. I think they're supposed to escort the key bearer on his mission." Aerith ushered them into the red room of the motel they were staying at.

There, standing front and center, was a dog and a duck.

* * *

Akari suppressed a giggle as she looked at the King's companions, who had already introduced themselves as Goofy and Donald Duck.

_Who would've thought Mickey would have friends who are so similar to him?_

Just looking at their animal-like forms reminded her of the King. The duck looked kind of annoyed though. Aerith began introducing everyone, being the friendly type she is.

While Donald and Goofy explained the letter the King had left to them, Leon stood up and walked out the door.

Akari glanced at Yuffie questioningly, but she just shrugged and followed him out the door.

The younger girl waved to the guests and followed her friends. She spotted Yuffie outside the threshold and ran over to her.

"Hey! Where's Leon?" She asked the ninja. Yuffie didn't respond, but motioned for Akari to follow her. She opened a door to the outside and began running, already leaping onto building for higher ground.

Akari chased after her, trying her hardest to keep up with the skilled ninja.

Finally, Yuffie stopped and kneeled.

"Wha-!" Akari nearly crashed into her as she pulled her own body to a stop.

"Shhh!' Yuffie whispered, pulling Akari down to the ground of the roof. The younger girl gave Yuffie a weird look but the dark haired girl was just staring in front of her. Akari took a moment to glance at the scene Yuffie was focused on and her heart practically stopped.

"Why's Leon with a pipsqueak?" Yuffie muttered, watching him. Standing there, in front of Cid's shop, was Leon and a younger boy. A boy Akari knew.

His face hadn't changed one bit. He still had that spiky brown hair and blue eyes. His red outfit was covered by a white jacket with a blue hood. And in his gloved hands, a silver key rested.

"_I'm Sora!" The small girl smiled._

"_I'm Akari!" Sora turned to his friend and called to him._

"_Hey! Riku! Come on!" The boy, Riku, shook his head, but smiled and walked over. He sat down next to Sora and looked up at the stars. Akari watched, intrigued as the two boys also made wishes. Sora opened one of his eyes, which had been closed for his wish making, and asked,_

"_What'd you wish for Akari?" Akari was slightly taken aback but she shrugged._

"_I wished for an adventure...and...friends!" Sora laughed._

"_Well you got that wish!" Riku looked at her._

"_You want an adventure?" He asked curiously. Akari nodded and turned her head out to sea._

"_Yeah! This place is so small! I want to see the outside world!" Riku grinned and offered a hand._

"_I'm Riku!" _

"_I'm Akari!" And as she took his hand, feeling happy._

"_Hey! Akari! You should come to the island with us!" Sora exclaimed excitedly. Akari turned to Riku curiously and Sora also focused his question on Riku. _

"_Wouldn't that be a good idea, Riku?" The green eyed boy thought about it for a moment in a teasing manner._

"_Yeah, I think that'd be fun!" He stared at Akari expectantly and she nodded._

"_Yeah that'd be awesome!" A bright smile bloomed on her face and Riku put his hand in the middle._

"_Then we'll meet up again tomorrow." Sora put his hand in the middle._

"_Yeah!" They both looked at Akari and she grinned._

"_Sure!" she lay back down and they followed suit, Sora tucking his hands under his head, looking up at the stars. As the stars fell, Akari smiled. Her wish had been granted, she had friends! _

Akari covered her mouth with her hand, an effort to hold back the gasp as tears began pricking her eyes. It'd been so long...since she'd seen him and Riku.

Thankfully, Yuffie was too focused on what was going on.

Leon stood in front of Sora, his silver gunblade out.

As soon as the fight began, Sora beat back Leon. Even Akari was surprised as Sora pushed back the older and more skilled fighter with a series of blows. But as someone who had fought Leon before, she knew exactly how this was going to turn out. Sora neared Leon, raising his keyblade warily, and in that moment Leon pushed Sora back, knocked the keyblade out of his hand, and struck him on the floor. Hitting his head hard, Sora fell unconscious.

Yuffie immediately jumped down, walking over to Leon.

"Aww, you're slipping, Leon." She asked. Leon sighed.

""I went easy on him. Looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse." Yuffie turned to where she had been previously hiding.

"He's down, Akari!" Leon looked at the rooftop in surprise as Akari leapt out of their hiding spot and onto the ground next to him. She cautiously approached Sora, staring at him with wide eyes before her gaze caught on something else.

"Is that…?" She ran over to where Leon had knocked Sora's weapon.

_A keyblade_

Her hand wavered, hovering over the weapon as she memorized it's simple form. Just as she reached out to touch it and see if it was real, Leon's voice brought her back to reality.

"Akari!" She immediately shot up and turned to him. He seemed to be staring at her with a stern gaze but in truth, he was simply curious. Why was she enamored by the key?

"What's up?" Yuffie asked. Akari looked away and instead turned to Sora.

"What are you guys gonna do with him?"

"_We, _what are we gonna do with him. And we're just gonna run down the full story with him." She peered at the keyblade a distance away. "We have to hide that key first, otherwise it'll attract Heartless like crazy." Yuffie patted Akari's back and waved to Leon. "Come on!" Leon reached down and grabbed Sora. Akari looked at her old friend's closed face and gave a small smile.

_It's good to see you again, Sora._


End file.
